A monitoring camera device such as a network camera device may be used in many different situations, both indoors and outdoors, to monitor a scene. The monitoring camera device often comprises a camera head where the camera head is movable within a movement range for adjustment during the installation of the monitoring camera device. This simplifies the installation and alignment of the camera head such that a desirable view of the scene is achieved by the monitoring camera device. The camera head may additionally or alternatively be movable within a movement range during operation of the monitoring camera. This is advantageous as the line of sight for the camera head of the monitoring camera device may be adjusted during monitoring and thereby the monitored view of the scene may be changed. The monitoring camera device may further comprise a plurality of movable camera heads such that a larger extent of a scene may be monitored or that different portions of the scene may be monitored by each of the camera heads.
In many situations it is desirable to increase the robustness and durability of the monitoring camera device by protecting the interior of the monitoring camera device by an enclosure. To design the enclosure is, however, a complicated task as the enclosure should not block or disturb the view of the monitoring camera device. The enclosure should further not hinder the movement capability of the camera head(s) of the monitoring camera device.
The enclosure may further be arranged to at least partly block view into the monitoring camera device. This may for example be desirable in a surveillance situation where it is advantageous to prevent or at least to render it more difficult for a person viewing the monitoring camera device to detect the direction at which a camera head is aimed. Problems associated with that a person in a scene, who detects where a visible camera head is directed, may based on this awareness move out of the view of the visible camera head, may thereby be prevented or at least alleviated. Discomfort which may result from that a person in a scene feels monitored by a visible camera head may further be mitigated. A more effective and discrete monitoring camera may therefore be obtained by blocking view into the interior of the monitoring camera device.
To this end, U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,866 A discloses a housing enclosing a camera. The housing further comprises a transparent cover which is coated such that the camera is substantially invisible from the outside of the housing.
Alternatively, U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,749 B1 describes a housing for a surveillance camera having an upper housing which houses a pan-and-tilt mechanism. The camera is carried by the pan-and-tilt mechanism, and extends into a lower, transparent housing. An inner liner is provided within the lower housing and covers the camera in order to protect the camera. The inner liner covers the camera, except that a slot allows the camera lens to capture images through the lower housing. A shield is fixed to the camera to move with the camera, covering the slot in the inner liner, the shield defining one opening for the camera lens. The inner liner and the shield are dark in color to prevent visual location of the camera lens.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,043 A discloses an enclosure for housing and protecting a device adapted to be continuously aimed at an external target object. The enclosure includes inner and outer windowed portions which are movable relative to one another in response to movements of the device. The outer window is elongated and oriented around the tilt axis of the device to provide a line of sight to the target object at all times in response to tilting rotation of the device. The inner window is smaller and extends transversely of the outer window. Because the outer enclosure portion or dome overlies the inner enclosure portion or dome it blocks the line of sight to the target object except when the inner window is in registry with the outer window. When this occurs a relatively small opening affords a clear line of sight.
US 2005/018074 A1, furthermore discloses an active camera apparatus and a robot apparatus in which the camera and the camera actuator can be protected from the external environment.
This is achieved by providing an outer body of ball shell type has an opening. A camera is located in the outer body and receives an image from outside of the outer body through the opening. A camera support unit is located in the outer body and rotationally supports the camera along a first axis and a second axis mutually crossed at a center of the outer body.
There is, however, a need to further improve protection and/or blocking view of the interior of a monitoring camera device and in particular when the monitoring camera device comprises a movable camera head.